Oddmall: The Emporium of the Weird

Today brings sunshine and Melanie and Marcel Hopp into our store :) These lovely folks are the parents of two talented artists, Andy and David Hopp, and they were telling me about this great little festival going on Sunday, September 22nd at the Lynnwood Convention Center - Oddmall, Emporium of the Weird.

If you like alternative art you have to see this great event - and say hi to David Hopp, who will be participating in this event.

Find out all the details at the show's website: http://oddmall.info/seattle/

Eric Maisel: Does What We Create Really Matter?

One of my favorite authors on creativity is Eric Maisel. He has written many books on issues and approaches that benefit artists and writers. He has a wonderful newsletter you can receive online. Here is one I received this month: --- tracy                                                 find him at ericmaisel.com

Eric Maisel Newsletter

Hello, everybody: Once you are struck by the question of whether what you are doing matters, and unless the answer is an immediate and unequivocal yes, you will be stuck with and haunted by that question. So many of the clients I work with, despite the optimistic face they put on the matter, don’t really believe that the short story, watercolor, or song that is giving them so much trouble is really worth the trouble, seeing that it “doesn’t really matter.” Does the world really need another short story, watercolor, or song? Why bother? Over the years I’ve provided many sorts of answers to this question. One is that there is no meaning unless we make it, that we make our meaning by seizing meaning opportunities, and that for a creative person creating is one of those meaning opportunities. But this does beg the question at least a little. How can creating be held as a genuine meaning opportunity if we have already “seen through it”? Creative and performing artists wrestle with this question daily and on more days than not come down on the side of the meaninglessness of creating. Another sort of answer that I’ve provided is the notion that we make ourselves proud when we turn to the creative projects we say that we want to tackle and that making ourselves proud is what we are actually after in life. Whether or not we believe in the project, doing it (and maybe especially doing it well) matches our values, among them that we will do what we say we will do. Here the justification for creating and the motivation for creating is not the felt meaningfulness of the work but the felt pride at honoring our commitments and living our values. Of course there are other sorts of answers that swirl in the mix: that we might actually prove successful; that creating is a “spiritual activity”; that nothing else interests us more; that creating and performing, as hard as they are, also provide joy and happiness; etc. But, given how hard so many people are finding it to stick with their creating or performing, I think that a new sort of answer is needed. It is an odd one and controversial because it can’t really be proven. It is the following: if we see creating as one of our life purposes, then it is physically good for us to create because our genes love it if we are living our life purposes. Take this fascinating recent study: http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/different-kinds-of-happiness-affect-genes-in-different-ways-study#.Uf7jRVIrY0o.facebook The headline: "The researchers assessed and took blood samples from 80 healthy adults who were classified as having either hedonic or eudaimonic well-being. Hedonic well-being is defined as happiness gained from seeking pleasure; eudaimonic well-being is that gained by having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life. The study showed that people who had high levels of eudaimonic well-being showed favorable profiles with low levels of inflammatory gene expression and exhibited a strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes. For the pleasure seekers, the opposite was true; those with high levels of hedonic well-being showed an adverse gene-expression profile, giving high inflammation and low antiviral/antibody expression." We might call this “genetic happiness.” We struggle with our novel and as far as we can tell it is making us sad and ill, so poorly is it going and so much work does it require. Yet our genes may well be singing and dancing, profoundly happy knowing that we are living one of our life purposes. Maybe this is true; maybe this isn’t. But it seems intuitively true to me and provides a new, profound reason for doing the things we say we value. This new reason is that, while the work may not matter from some universal perspective, the doing of it may nevertheless keep us healthy. When you doubt that writing your novel matters, say to yourself, “It matters on the genetic level and I want to make my genes happy!” Who knows if this is literally true? But, you know, it may be. Best, Eric

Stop the "I'm BORED" comments in their tracks!

by Angela Bandurka

Recently, ARTspot employee and instructor, Mona Fairbanks, decided to come up with a go-get-'em plan: let's think up some fun, family adventures and then blog about them!

It was a brilliant plan. She got her family and friends involved in some creative endeavors that they then shared with the world via blogging - not only did it get them motivated, it also set up a little extra incentive to actually achieve their goals :)

Their seventh adventure this summer is a fun one: from garden to table. A plan to grow food, source other food from local suppliers/friends, create entertainment for viewing during this supper together with neighbors and have art created to spruce up the space a little. Sound daunting? Well you can see exactly how much fun they've been having by checking out their blog: http://gardenfarmer.tumblr.com

They've been having so much fun, in fact, that My Edmonds News has been following them :) http://myedmondsnews.com/2013/07/motherdaughter-fun-in-edmonds-adventure-7-farm-to-table-2013/

Doesn't need to be too fancy, just set up a goal for yourselves and then execute it! You can set your own expectations, and you can go easy on yourself. We're here to help!

How do you know when it is done?

Submitted by Tracy Felix Fraker
I have been asked this by many students in my acrylic painting workshops. I think the answer will vary based on the medium you are using and the goals of your artwork. It will also be a personal decision based on your understanding of composition. 
1. Short answer: you are satisfied with it.
2. Long answer: 
Critique the composition and correct
Review the way your eye travels the painting and be confident of your focal point
The work is ready for presentation - meaning does it need smudges cleaned up, edges are addressed and sheen is uniform or to your liking.
3. The painting either moves your method forward (you learned from it... you are inspired to do another piece based on what you got from this one) ... or you met the goal of pleasing a client in the case of a commission. 
4. Be discriminating in who you ask for a review of your work. Family members love you but don't always know what you are trying to accomplish, or what you need beyond a compliment.... or worse feeling the need to find a recognizable image in a non-representational painting.
5. Know that some paintings will "fall off the brush" and others may take many passes and corrections. I will set a work in progress in my family room and live with it, until I know what to do next. The more advanced the painting becomes the slower my process goes. (usually) So I don't go into it unless I know what it is I want to accomplish.

I have heard this one too... It's like when you are having dinner. You just know when you are done.

See the comments section below? How do you answer this one?

Update!

by Angela Bandurka

Just wanted to let you all know that the book that we mentioned in the post, Another Amazing Customer has been printed and is now available for sale at the Edmonds Bookshop, 111 5th Avenue, Downtown Edmonds.

Go grab a signed copy today! Support local artists :)

Meet Joe: High-school Sophomore and self-taught artist!

by Angela Bandurka

This morning our regular customer, Joe, came in to look at some watercolor paper and we got to chatting about the artists that Joe admires. We shared one of them in common - Mary Blair, the late, amazing Disney artist (think "It's a Small World").

This young man has ambition and pride in his work, it's just refreshing to see in someone this young. He has dreams of becoming a writer, illustrator, and eventually start his own animation company!

Anyway, he allowed me to share some of the art he's most proud of. I don't want to share his last name as he's a minor, but I bet we'll see more of him in the future. Thanks for letting me share, Joe!

Here is my personal favourite:

Snow Shy

Sam the Dragon

Little Dragon

Another Amazing Customer!

by Angela Bandurka

Isn't it incredible what you discover about strangers when you start talking to them? They cease to be strangers and you start to see the unique things about them that never cease to amaze.

At ARTspot, the customers who come in and stay and chat are infinitely fascinating - and Eliza Wyatt is no exception. 

This beautiful willowy soul came into the shop last week to buy a fountain pen and ink, and I commented on her cool corset. This led to a long discussion about clothes, lifestyle and interests.

Turns out, Eliza is a writer and illustrator. And her books are available online - for FREE! I asked if she wouldn't mind if I posted her link so that everyone could benefit from her hard work.

Why do they give away their books for free? She and her partner, Christian Leffler, put it best themselves:

The Forever Series: An epic fantasy series of love and immortality.

Have a free book.

No, you don't need to sign up for anything. I don't want to know your email address. No account, no DRM, no expiration date. Take it. Go on. In fact if you like it, email it to your friends with our blessings. Just don't print or sell it.

We do this because as readers ourselves, it's important to us that people discover fiction that they can be enthusiastic about. The book we're offering is the first of a series of fantasy novellas (books about a hundred pages long) for readers age 16+. There's no trick ending, no cliffhanger. You can find the next books in the series in our shop-- each ebook is a dollar. We also sell printed books, if you'd like a solid copy. - See more at: http://theforeverseries.com/#sthash.Pf1YJDqg.dpuf